Posted tagged ‘77 Superstars’

Last Thursday, when winter was doing its best to hold off spring in Edmonton, Bohemia was holding a cozy local show. The Choir and Marching Band and 77 Superstars warmed things up for all the folks who braved the weather, and made it well worth the trudge through the snow.

The 77 Superstars started the show and immediately brought the audience back to the mid-70s in New York City. Fronted by Aaron Vincent, the sound, style, and attitude of the three piece harked back to the heyday of glam rock and early punk. Very importantly, the guitar solos were killer too.

Just in case that wasn’t enough, they even played the, uh, classic heroin addiction song first performed by the Heartbreakers, “Chinese Rocks.” I kept expecting Dee Dee Ramone to walk through the door. Or at least Richard Hell.

Another highlight of the show was when Vincent invited the audience to get closer to the stage, and even before he finished his request, Grant Stovel, the drummer for Choir and Marching Band, zoomed right up front.

Stovel was at the back of the stage once Choir and Marching Band were on it, helping launch into an ethereal set led by Trevor Rockwell.

The band’s newest release Superhot Body Only One Light Year Away debuted #2 on the CJSR charts a few weeks ago. Taking 5 years to make (which might have had something to do with Rockwell completing his PhD in Soviet History), it’s exciting his music has finally taken off like Sputnik.

Melodic and spacey, Rockwell weaved the audience through songs both new and old, and across genres. Funny enough, this distance was reflected in the movies screening on the Bohemia television during the gig- first it was Serenity, and then the Norwegian film Dead Snow.

If you didn’t make it to the show last Thursday, Choir and Marching Band have a couple upcoming shows with great line-ups in May: